The present invention relates generally to improvements in devices for stripping sabots from a projectile and discharging the fragments thereof, and more particularly to a novel sabot fragment and gun gas diverter for use in conjunction with a rapid fire multiple barrel rotary gun.
In order to improve the armor penetration capabilities of existing gun systems, subcaliber sabotted penetrators exhibiting low aerodynamic drag have proved to be very effective. Typically, few problems are associated with discarded sabots from a ground based gun. However, on a forward firing aircraft, the possibility of ingesting both sabot fragments and gun gases into the engine(s) exists since the aircraft passes through the air space into which the gun gas and sabot fragments are discarded. Additionally, in systems such as the GAU-8 gun system used on the A-10 aircraft, impact damage to the aircraft structure, to wing-mounted weapon systems, and to belly-mounted electronics packages may require a device to divert the materials away from the aircraft structure.
In an existing system, a 20 mm sabot diverter compatible with the M-61 gun system consists of a rotary diverter attached to the muzzle section of the gun and rotatable with the barrels as the gun fires, which stops and pulverizes sabot fragments from a projectile and diverts them rearwardly. This type of diverter is not suitable for use on an aircraft such as the A-10 where the gun is directly in the nose of the fuselage and the engines are mounted far aft of the gun.
The present invention provides a sabot fragment and gun gas diverter including a starwheel and impact plate configuration for use in a forwardly mounted and forwardly firing gun system, such as the GAU-8 system. This configuration obtains its diversion characteristics within a minimum weight package by using a two-stage deflection operation. The first stage comprises a deflector which rotates with the gun barrels and deflects sabot fragments against an inclined impact plate comprising the second stage. The impact plate is fixed relative to the aircraft and redirects the fragments in a predetermined direction away from the aircraft clear of engine intakes and other aircraft structure. In order for the discarded material to be ejected clear of the aircraft, a maximum of sabot fragment momentum is conserved and maximum size of the diverted fragments is retained. The gun gas diversion characteristics of the diverter aid in flushing the sabot fragments from the diverter while maximizing velocity of the fragments.
It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved device for diverting sabot fragments stripped from sabotted projectiles.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved sabot fragment diverter for use in conjunction with a multiple barrel, forward firing gun installation aboard an aircraft.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent as the detailed description of certain representative embodiments thereof proceeds.